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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTimes Advocate, 1997-09-17, Page 4Page 4 Tines -Advocate, September 17, 1997 Publisher & Editor: Jim Beckett Business Manager: Don Smith Production Manager: Deb Lord Advertising; Barb Consitt, Chad Eedy News; Heather Mir. Craig Bradford, Chantal! Van Raay Brenda Burke, Kate Monk, Ross Haugh Production: Alma Ballantyne, Mary McMurray, Barb Robertson Brenda Hem, Joyce Weber, Laurel Miner Transportation: Al Flynn, Al Hodged Front Office & Accounting,; Elaine Pinder, Sue Rollings, Carol Windsor Ruthanne Negrijn, Anita McDonald, Cassie Dalrymple, Ruth Slaght, Sheila Corbett aaw • The Exeter Times -Advocate is a member of a family of community newspapers providing news, advertising and information leadership 1'.l)I t ()IZI kI, Take a close look at this piece of legislation piano's Conservative government and the province's unions seem to be on a col- lision course, travelling downhill and gaining momentum. In Hamilton, a nurse -says •she is pleased at the promise of support from the CAW for a • public service workers'. strike. In Grey County, a teacher Speaking of a strike uses the word "when", not "it". Members of the the Canadian Union of Public Employees in Ottawa have al- ready voted to take strike action, if necessary, to stop Pill 136 . Ontario's Ichor unions and the Harris govern- ment -have been meeting to discuss this legisla- tion. While discussions continue, the unions are preparing for strike action. Rumor has it the Tories are in a more concil- iatory (pre-election) mood than they have been; and are at least prepared to listen to the opposition. The thing that has some people worried is unions and their •Members don't tend to be big Tory support- ers, a fact certainly known to the government. And maybe no.onc has told Mike Harris he is supposed to he in a more conciliatory mood. And just maybe the unions themselves are running out of time before the next election, and have their own agenda. Private agendas aside, some members of the public are left wondering what Bill 136 is. Good or bad,_ it is a clear recognition that this government's policy of restructuring, amalga- mations, and.changes is going to affect work- ers. It is also a clear recognition that the chang- es to public services in hospitals, schools and municipalities are not simple but involve some complex issues. - Municipal amalgamations in Ontario are ex- pected to result in a drop from 815 in 1996 to 670 by 1998, with additional restructuring con- tinuingto take place over the next several years. With more than 49,000 unionized munic- ipal employees working in administration, pub- lic works, parks and recreation, and planning, covered by 430 collective agreements, not to mention 18 unions (94 per cent Canadian Union of Public Employees), there are going to be problems. Bill 136 contains the Public Sector Labour Relations Transition Act, which will establish the Labour Relations Transition Commission, a temporary body to help resolve conflicts which are bound to occur when workers belonging to different unions (or union and non-union work- ers) are suddenly grouped together. 11 also con- tains the Public Sector Dispute Resolution Act to permanently reform the system for resolving disputes with workers where strikes and lock- outs are not permitted - police, fire and hospital workers. In addition, there will be amendments to the Pay Equity Act. And amendments will be made to the Employment Standards Act to wind down the Employee Wage Protection Program. • The Ministry of Labour states the bill does not take away the right of workers to strike - about half of those affected are police, fire and hospi- tal employees who presently do not have the right to strike. In all, Bill 136 is an important piece of legis- lation that must be looked at - not automatically rejected, and not pushed through without a sec- ond glance. - Another example of the government scram- bling to repair damage caused by extreme changes made much too quickly? Perhaps. A piece of legislation that is complex and should be examined by all political parties, unions and workers who will be affected? Definitely. - With files provided by the office of Bill Mur- doch, MPP (PC - Grey -Owen Sound) From Saugeen City News Your Views Letter to the editor Congratulations to town of Exeter The OPP team arrived and took charge.... Dear editor; You may be small in size, but your emergency services are second to none! On Saturday morning August 9, I was driving north on the Main Street of Exeter, heading for the Durham Wood Show. . The car in front of me made a panic stop and I followed. The van behind me did not stop until it had pushed me into the car ahead and totalled my Ponti- ac wagon. The OPP team arrived and took charge. The ambulance crew removed me from my vehi- cle with a backboard and choker collar and proceed- ed to the Exeter Hospital. After immediate assessment and X-rays I was dis- charged. Special thanks to senior Const. Dianne McGregor who attended at the hospital and returned by docu- ments and explained my options. I will endeavor to make my next visit to Exeter a social one!! Frank Donnelly London, Ontario P.S. The only ones missing were Wm. Shatner and his 9M film crew! A View from Queen's Park By Erik Dowd - TORONTO -- Opponents who could not beat Premier Mike Harris in an election are finding it can be more rewarding to take him to court. The Progressive Conservative premier's crit- ics have won two court challenges in a week, and their successes are likely to encourage what has been a steady stream of lawsuits against him to swell to a flood. Critics are taking to the courts because Hams and his advisers tend to be dogmatic and often have not provided traditional consultation which would allow interest groups to feel they were at least considered before legisation was introduced. Harris also has churned out more laws of substance in a short time than any pre- vious premier and in the haste some have been poorly drafted. in the most recent examples, the Ontario Court (General Division) supported un- ions who challenged a change Harris made to the law on pay equity cover- ing workers in the broader public sector. To help employers, the premier abolished a provi- sion that where it was impossible to establish women's pay by comparing to men in the same Publications Mail Registration Number 0386 511111CRIELION_RAIESI One year rate for Canada subscribers - $36.00 + OST Two year rate for Canada subscribers - $63.00 4, OST OTHER _BATE$ .Mr,e1AM coM,NVN, Outside Canada - $102.00 151s- ISM .A„ res ASSOC`.,. Published Each Wednesday Morning at 424 Main St., Exeter, Ontario, NOM 1S6 by J.W. Eedy Publications Ltd. Telephone 1-519-235-1331 • Fax: 519-235-0766 G.S.T. MR105210835 That's my opinion By Chantal) Van Raay When you see my byline you'll know who I am Hi. My name is Chantall Van Raay and I will be filling you in on some of the news in Exeter and arca for the next few months. So. if you see my byline in :upcoming Times Advocate publications, you'll at least know who 1 ani, and where I'm coming from. Who knows, maybe one day I'll even in- terview you or take your picture. Finding my way to Exeter meant that I had to do a bit of travelling to get here. I started my journey in Windsor, graduating with a Bache- lor of Arts degree in 1996. The next year I moved to Oakville, and en- rolled into a direct entry course in Print .Journalism at Sheridan Col- lege. Immediately after completion of this program, I worked at The Guelph Mercury as a student re- porter for two months. Upon finishing my studies and my work term at The Guelph Mer- cury, i had a feeling that 1 would fall into the same rut that many uni- versity or •college graduates have seemed to have fallen into. Words such as unemployment,' job search and student loan were headaches I believed would inevitably follow graduation. But after three months of finishing school 1 landed a sum- mer• job at. the Fergus/Elora News Express. operated by the same own- er as the Exeter Times Advocate. Near the end of my • position with the News Express. another tempo- rary position was created at the Ex- eter Times Advocate. So for the next little while i will be replacing T -A Reporter Heather Mir, who will he going on a maternity leave for the next few months. That is basically the route I took that' led me to your doorstep. So, here 1 am. Doing what I have loved to do since I first learned how to write - and that is writing for other people. •Writing has be- come not only a career choice for mc, but it is now a big part of my life. Although! have only been in Ex- eter for a short while. i have already come to adore its quaintness, and the general feeling of goodness gen- erated by the people wholive here. Being from Chatham. Ontario. which is also a fairly small town. i have come to understand how inte- gral community well-being is in or- der to allow the community to bloom. Walking through Exeter. and visiting the shops and restau- rants that line the streets,,has easily convinced me that the well-being o f the_town is obvious. .would like to say that it is a. pleasure to be working for the town of Exeter. 1 will deliver exciting and accurate news during me stay, so not only can I continue to fulfill my own dream, but hopefully i will en= certain and inform you through the words 1 will write. I'll sec you soon in print. institutions because they do not employ men do: ing similar work, rates could be set by proxy, comparing to women who have pay equity in other, similar institutions. The court ruled that Hams violated the Consti- tution's Charter of Rights, which states every in- dividual has the right to equal protection under the law, so that once a government legislates to remove inequalities it must make its taw apply fairly and equally to all within a target group or it discriminates itself. Unless it is overturned by appeal, the court rul- ing will slow down Harris in one of his major aims, cutting spending in the public sector. An- other judge backed a union representing clean- ers in government buildings which wanted is- sues arbitrated by the Ontario Labor Relations Board, but worried that the board would be in- timidated because government house leader Da- vid Johnson, feeling it had favored strikers in another dispute, had threatened to review and re- assess it. The union asked for a different arbitrator and Back in court the Tories refused, but the court ruled the board would be seen as biased and ordered the issues heard by an independent adjudicator. Earlier, a court ordered the government to reinstate five directors of Ontario Hydro it fired before their terms of office expired, clearly because they are not Tories. The government claimed it was merely saving money. but the court said it could not fire them in mid-term without showing cause. Another court ruled similarly that Harris could not drop members of the OLRB and the Ottawa -Carleton Police Services Board in mid- term and had to reimburse him for financial losses. Harris appointed watchdogs over munic- ipalities he proposed to merge in Metropolitan Toronto, which he implied could not be trusted; without waiting for. the legislature to approve the merger and a court ruled he had no authori- ty to do this and rebuked him for acting prema- turely. A court ruled Harris's law enabling police to impose an immediate 90 -day driving licence suspension on any driver they judged failed a breathalyzer test was unconstitutional. While acknowledging the need for tough laws against impaired driving, the court also reminded an accused has a right to a trial. Judges also have criticized the Harris government for not provid- ing enough beds in psychiatric hospitals and re- ducing funds that would enable people convict- ed of minor crimes to perforni community service instead of going to jail. Some who have taken the province to court have lost high-profile challenges. They include those who argued municipal councils and pub- lic school boards have rights under the Consti- tution but were told they are, (sadly, mere "creatures of the province." But even then they got the solace of hearing judges chide Harris for avoiding meaningful consultation and being "breathtakingly arbi- trary," and while opponents draw such blood, . they will be back in court.